Patti Smith has a song called "Revenge," and "A Quick One (While He's Away)" by the Who ends with a chorus of "You are forgiven," but I can't think of any single song that features both revenge and forgiveness ("I'll have my revenge, but I forgive you"?).

Hi! Heard about your search from Trent on facebook. Go to sophia-records.com. Click on the album "Dancing in the Fire." The song "I Forgive" is probably the fourth or fifth track. You can scan the tracks on the toolbar at the top of the page, find the song, and hit play, and it will begin playing immediately..... Hope you think it might work! It has some really evocative parts... especially the end. Let me know what you think! Cecelia

How about "The Lord's Prayer" ... and forgive us or debts as we forgive our debtors.... the organ instrumental might be nice. And for a more folky suggestion, The Indigo Girls', "Moment of Forgiveness"

"I wish for just one time you could stand inside my shoes,and just for that one moment I could be you Yes I wish that for just one time you could stand in my shoes, you'd know what a drag it is to see you"

The Indigo Girls have a song "Moment of Forgiveness," which is good. Mason Jennings also has a song called "Forgiveness," and one of my favorite of his songs is "Darkness Between the Butterflies" about how the people we love and are in relationship with have a past that we will never know all the details of -- and that's okay -- that they have loved other people before us, and not getting caught up in jealousy about that. It's a great song, check it out.

Annie Lennox has a very raw and courageous song about the rage of a love ended, thoughts of revenge that then lead to an awakening of forgiveness for one's self..It is off her "Bare" album and the track is called 'Bitter Pill'....it is a very powerful song and evoke much imagery for many....and as I woman who is facing her Rage within and trying to constructively release it so not to poison my body The Temple, or hurt anyone around my sphere of influence...it speaks volumes to me, and I bet it will to others.

MUST include Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughtta Know." Very angry, very cathartic. For months after I was betrayed by my (now ex) husband, I played this repeatedly in my car while driving and shouting the lyrics. I'm much better now. :-)

MUST include Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughtta Know." Very angry, very cathartic. For months after I was betrayed by my (now ex) husband, I played this repeatedly in my car while driving and shouting the lyrics. I'm much better now. :-)

well this isn't a song, but there is a really great documentary called Love Lived on Death Row that I recently saw that really draws out these themes. The web site if you want to check it out or include it in the program is:www.lovelivedondeathrow.com

Hey Mitch - I was thinking I'd throw my tuppence in, but they've been named - Ani Difranco, Denison Witmer... although Julie Lee does have a gorgeous song on her new EP called "forgive yourself" - i... as well as putting Emily Dickinson's poem "Hope's the thing with feathers" to a lovely, lazy, lullaby bluegrass melody.I think Lisa Gerrard's "Non Clamor" captures the profundity and depth of emotion of any human impact, and "Streamside" which is a lovely joint venture between Sigur Rós and The Album Leaf feels somehow healing. I'm glad you asked the question about music though - this ties in with my own work... Forgiveness discussion, not music. I run a programme in Belfast that puts educational resources on Forgiveness together - mostly for classroom curricular based programmes, but also for youth and adult groups - so I'll be scouring the other readers' suggestions. I'm looking forward to the show. As always, a thousand goodnesses and thanks to the whole SoF team.

Thanks for asking! I am responding quickly just now, but may add some ideas in the next couple of days. What immediately comes to mind is a contemporary hymn by Marty Haugen (GIA Publications, Inc; Chicago) called Healer of our Every Ill. It's also arranged for handbells and available on their web site (giamusic.com/sacred_music).Instrumentally, the Méditation from Thaïs by Massanet is very evocative - this might do it.

Hmmm, how about "Moment of Forgiveness" by the Indigo Girls and "Angry Anymore" by Ani diFranco, and maybe "The Wood Song" by the Indigo Girls. Not explicitly about forgiveness per se, but about growth...

Revenge - the first song that comes to my mind is "A Mighty Fortress is our God". I think about how God will take care of my problems (if I turn them over to God), and how God will protect me within the walls of God's fortress.

Favorite vengeance song: Amy Rigby's "Keep it to Yourself." Not very spiritually uplifting, but hysterical. Got me and my roommate through the dark early days of her divorce, before we moved on to the forgiveness stage.

“Later Days” by Over the Rhine (off the album Good Dog, Bad Dog)“Suitcase” by Over the Rhine (off the album Ohio)“We’re Gonna Pull Through” by Over the Rhine (off the album Snow Angels)“Start a War” by The National (off the album Boxer)“I Forgive You” (Instrumental) by Linford Detweiler (off the album Grey Ghost Stories)“Skeleton Key” by Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s (The Dust of Retreat)“In the Sun” by Joseph Arthur (off the album Come To Where I’m From)“Casimir Pulaski Day” by Sufjan Stevens (off the album Come On Feel The Illinois)“For the Widows In Paradise, for the Fatherless In Ypsilanti” by Sufjan Stevens (off the album Greetings From Michigan)“Rain” by Patty Griffin (off the album 1000 Kisses)“I Hung My Head” by Johnny Cash (off the album American IV: The Man Comes Around)

"I Forgive You" by Darren Hayes"Chariot" by Gavin DeGraw"It Is Well With My Soul" by Levi Kreis feat. Darci Monet"Tangled" by Maroon 5"Hero" by The Makepeace Brothers"Open Wide My Heart" by Matthew West"The Love of God" by MercyMe"Here With Me" by MercyMe

2001 CD called "Zero Church" with a song called "Anyway" with lyrics attributed to Mother Teresa. The collection grew out of the Institute of Arts & Civic Dialogue at Harvard. One of the vocalists is with the acapella quintet Sweet Honey in the Rock that also might have music that would be appropriate.

Dylan's ironic "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" straddles both forgiveness and revenge. The words of forgiveness coupled with the bitter sentiment they really express creates one of the most honest and accurate songs about the complicated feelings of breaking up with someone. Joan Baez's cover I find layered because of her frustrated feelings for Dylan; however, the most strangely compelling version of this song is by Peter, Paul and Mary. Their quasi-cheerful aura make the underlying sentiment of the song that much more powerful. However, the lyrics are by no means limited to relationships; I remember singing this song while driving back home from Wheaton College for the last time, knowing I had quit evangelicalism for good.

(the themes of 'revenge'--or the recourse of thought to adversity in relationships and the hardness of life--and 'forgiveness' are present throughout much of the lyricism of David Bazan of Pedro the Lion)

great question and I note a lot of Johnny Cash songs already cited. as I believe that there are multiple steps from revenge to forgiveness, i'll toss into the ring for your consideration his song "hurt" by Cash and of course the "soft-version" bu nine inch nails works. good luck; more interesting is what religious thinker or therapapist can get your from a to b.

Hello Mitch, I am Terra-Raye and I have just completed a CD of mostly my original compositions. I have a poem called 'Peace', that is performed to music on the CD. I wrote this as I was on my way to the Middle East 10 years ago to lead many group prayer ceremonies with Israelies and a few Muslims and Christians attended as well during the 18 or so circles we led. I continue my peace work through ceremonial prayer in this country, my music, writing and speaking.

My poem is about all of the good things that are happening, we do not hear about, expressed as Light that I call, "Blue Flame Torch of Truth carving with surgical certainty through eons of impacted beliefs exposing the wound to the lazer light of love. Ancient pain screams out retaliating with hardened habits of havok, yet gentle holds the healer of the crying child allowing the pain to flow, expressing the tears of time......"

That is just a taste of the begining. It is a call to all of us to "hold the Blue Flame of Light holding gentle, yet firm our embrase for those who continue to fight".

I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for. It all means looking at the world problems with a healing heart of forgivness, thereby ending the emotional war, thereby contributing the actual ending of this impossible, illogical way humanity relates to itself. Thank you for the invitaion to contribute.I look forward to hearing from you. I do not have a website yet, but if you Google Terra-Raye Peace you will find many thing I have been doing in the past few years to promote peace.

There is a song called The Perfect Revenge by Kevin Faherty. I know it through Darryl Purpose's album Gift of the Magi. I love Darryl Purpose's version; I've never heard the original. Great acoustic song:

Come to me in angeryour weapon is your tongueYou don't see the dangerin this stranger you've become

justified with reasonsall on pride's behalfyour heart shook the hand of treasonand signed a solemn pact

A stone for a stonean eye for an eyeThat's a rocky road to travel down so blindwhy not make a point no armor can defendat a time like this forgiveness is the perfect revenge

Faultlines, by The Mountain Goats (off of All Hail West Texas)! The song's somewhat (it always seems to me) about the dysfunctional desire for revenge and how it ends up binding you (the revenger) with the Other (the revengee). And (again, it seems to me) that these themes are explored musically as well as lyrically...Hope you agree!

I've just heard Dr. Anthony Cicoria play his "Lightning Sonata", absolutely beautiful. He's an orthopedic surgeon who, three weeks after being struck by lightning, developed an intense love of piano music eventually learning to play and compose his own. It's breathtakingly beautiful. I understand the CD will be out in two weeks or so. Please give it a listen.

This is probably too late . . . but I thought I'd throw it into the hat. Jonathan Elias composed a long piece of music called "The Prayer Cycle." The musicians on the CD include Alanis Morissette, James Taylor, Salif Keita, Perry Farrell, John Williams, Linda Ronstadt, the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the American Boychoir and the English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus. There are 7 movements: Mercy, Strength, Hope, Compassion, Grace, Innocence, Forgiveness, Benediction, Faith. The composer wrote a poem for each movement. It's a deeply moving piece of music.

I always thought that the character Salieri, in the movie Amadeus, had it right when he says, as he watches the fourth act of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro","l saw a woman...disguised in her maid's clothes...hear her husband speak the first tender words he'd offered her in years. Simply because he thinks she is someone else. l heard the music of true forgiveness filling the theatre...conferring on all who sat there perfect absolution. God was singing through this little man...to all the world.

I'll confess to being a bit biased here, but folk singers Anne Hills and David Roth co-wrote and recorded a song some fifteen years ago titled "That Kind of Grace." The song, written in the car as they were listening to radio reports of the riots in L.A. following the Rodney King verdict, tells several stories of racist violence where forgiveness was a response of the parents, in the cases of the church bombings and Michael Donald, or a plea for peace was spoken, as in King's remarks to the press, as quoted in the final verse. It is a powerful song about forgiveness found on the benefit tape titled "That Kind of Grace" which was recorded for the Carole Robertson Learning Center in Chicago, and on David Roth's album "Rising in Love" (Available on iTunes)

"That Kind of Grace" (Hills/Roth)

Sunday morning Birmingham, quiet in the churchBombs were planted, house of God, children's blood on the crossAnd your daughter she was one, angel without wingsHow could anyone forgive those who do such things.

Chorus And when I sing Amazing Grace, your face is what I see. I hope someday that kind of grace will find its way through me.

Friday evening in Mobile, Klansman killing time,Saw young Michael walking by, he would do just fine.Quiet student, mother's best, pleading for his lifeStrung him up to make a point, sharper than a knife,

Eula May his mother stood, people all aroundIn the court room listening as the truth was foundFrom her mouth no curses fell, no profanity"I would do to others as I'd have them do to me."

Chorus And when I sing Amazing Grace, your face is what I see. I hope someday that kind of grace will find its way through me.

Thursday afternoon in the car, turn the radio on,The verdict in Los Angeles, Oh what have we doneImages of violence, yellow black and white52 dead, millions lost, who can win this fight

And on the screen a face of tears, trembling through and throughOne we've seen so many times beaten on the newsI could barely hear the words, full of fear and doubt"People we can't live like this, we've got to work this out"

Chorus And when I sing Amazing Grace, your face is what I see. I hope someday that kind of grace will find its way through me.

The song closes with an accapella singing of the first verse of Amazing Grace, which almost always evokes audience participation at Anne and/or David's live shows.

The Prayer Cycle, a "choral symphony in nine movements" - music and text by Jonathan Elias, is a CD with musicians from around the world. It makes my hair stand up and sparks fly. Movement VII is entitled Forgiveness, with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Urdu), Ofra Haza (Hebrew) and the English Chamber Chorus (French).

Re: Pentecosts and Sara Palin. Tippett, How could you possibly present Palin and her church in such a totally positive light? Why not talk about the prejudice they teach and project in relation to gay people and others? Palin and congregation had a Pray for Gay week in which they prayed for gays to change to straights. When do people get it, that gays are born gay, happy to be gay, close to God and gay, blessed by God and gay, full of love and light with wonderful parners, long term relationships, children, community, the whole deal. Let's be real, honest and full of integrity, and present the whole picture about Palin and Pentecosts. Ellen Cheney

Personally, I find that while forgiveness is so difficult, the act of revenge usually brings me back to... forgiveness. In moments of forgiveness, I find myself surrounded by the comforting tones of Moonlight Sonata: the repetition brings dark tones, but the higher accents leave a sense of neutrality. I am left with a piece that saturates my anger and brings light to the next breathing moment.

In angered passion, I find the eccentric sounds of Nine Inch Nails' album "Only", specifically "Why do you get all the love in the world" to be a track that, through sound, helps amplify and subdue any emotions of anger or revenge. I can live out the moment during the span of this song and by the end, I am completely through the range of emotion: revenge only begins another cycle for anger.

not sure if I am too late for this. The band "Rage against the Machine" often expresses the feelings of revenge (to me, a more righteous brand). Maybe the Beastie Boys (later) might express forgiveness, especially with one's self.thanks for asking

how about Fish and Whistle by John Prine? You know..."Father forgive us for what we must do, you forgive us, we'll forgive you. We'll forgive each other til we both turn blue, then we'll whistle and go fishin' in heaven."

"This Perfect World" by Freedy Johnston is one of those songs that is both powerfully heartbreaking and healing all at once. It's up for grabs if the character speaking in the song receives the forgiveness he wants, but clearly this song captures a moment that breaks through past hurts and as he stands vulnerable and naked in the presence of the one (a daughter?) who he has avoided as she has avoided him.

You oughta see your faceYou oughta hear your voiceLast time I was hereI wouldn't turn aroundYou oughta lock that doorSomebody might get inDidn't I teach you that

This perfect worldSo blue I can't begin to sayThis perfect worldI know I never should have gone awayBut I still deserve to say goodbyeNo matter what I've done

I see her in your faceHear her in your voiceLast time I was hereThey found her in the lakeYou oughta see my scarYou think I'm made of stoneDidn't you tell me that

This perfect worldSo blue I can't begin to sayThis perfect worldThey say that soon I will be gone awayBut I still deserve to say goodbyeNo matter what I've done

Now I've gone around it's far too lateAnd these pills won't even let me cryNo one knows you even when you're goneBut I still deserve to say goodbyeNo matter what I've doneNo matter what I've done

"Fallaste Corazon" by Cuco Sanchez, if you understand spanish! It begins with Y tú que te creías el rey de todo el mundo; y tú que nunca fuiste capaz de perdonar ...("And you who took yourself to be the king of the world; you who were never capable of pardoning anyone.... now you're asking for tenderness, if only out of pity..." Seemingly about a proud man who has been cruel and heartless in the past but now has fallen in love with the one person who is not inclined to love him back and is brought to his knees, possibly even by the one who is savouring this moment highly.)

I find it very pleasurable to listen to! You just think, HA. Now you know how it feels, sucker. No matter how nice you are by nature!

Ahh, Music as catharsis. Good medicine to me. Here's a few excerpts from one of my fav's on the subject.

Idiot Wind by Bob Dylan

I woke up on the roadside, daydreamin bout the way things sometimes areVisions of your chestnut mare shoot through my head and are makin me see stars.You hurt the ones that I love best and cover up the truth with lies.One day youll be in the ditch, flies buzzin around your eyes,Blood on your saddle.

Idiot wind, blowing through the flowers on your tomb,Blowing through the curtains in your room.Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth,Youre an idiot, babe.Its a wonder that you still know how to breathe.

It was gravity which pulled us down and destiny which broke us apartYou tamed the lion in my cage but it just wasnt enough to change my heart.Now everythings a little upside down, as a matter of fact the wheels have stopped,Whats good is bad, whats bad is good, youll find out when you reach the topYoure on the bottom.

I noticed at the ceremony, your corrupt ways had finally made you blindI cant remember your face anymore, your mouth has changed, your eyesDont look into mine.The priest wore black on the seventh day and sat stone-faced while the buildingBurned.I waited for you on the running boards, near the cypress trees, while the springtimeTurned slowly into autumn.

Idiot wind, blowing like a circle around my skull,From the grand coulee dam to the capitol.Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth,Youre an idiot, babe.Its a wonder that you still know how to breathe.

I cant feel you anymore, I cant even touch the books youve readEvery time I crawl past your door, I been wishin I was somebody else instead.Down the highway, down the tracks, down the road to ecstasy,I followed you beneath the stars, hounded by your memoryAnd all your ragin glory.

I been double-crossed now for the very last time and now Im finally free,I kissed goodbye the howling beast on the borderline which separated you from me.Youll never know the hurt I suffered nor the pain I rise above,And Ill never know the same about you, your holiness or your kind of love,And it makes me feel so sorry.

Idiot wind, blowing through the buttons of our coats,Blowing through the letters that we wrote.Idiot wind, blowing through the dust upon our shelves,Were idiots, babe.Its a wonder we can even feed ourselves.

I was late for class one afternoon because I couldn't break away from this song. I ordered the CD when I returned home. This is Faulknerian acid blues, painful and disturbing, more depravity than vengeance, a few shades darker than Hendrix's "Hey Joe." Talk about attraction of the abomination!

"Forgive Us," John McCutcheon's song, begins with a remembrance of saying the Lord's Prayer. It also movingly references the brutal killing of an Amish schoolgirl by a disturbed man, and the ability of the Amish to forgive.

"I repent" by Derek Webb is a beautiful song that captures the emotions of what it is like to be in the moment of genuinely asking someone for forgiveness. In the beginning of the song you can hear the angst in Webb's voice as he lists waits in limbo for those he has forgiven to decide whether or not to forgive him. As the song goes on though, it becomes less about being forgiven and more about the healing process that simply asking for forgiveness can have on ones soul

no, it's never to late to forgiveyou're not to blame, you were just a childlay down your armor and learn to liveno, it's never to late to forgive(water, water, water everywhereand n'er a drop to drink, you've gottalet your hair down, so you can think)

All I know is that I'll never dish another raw dealPlaying make believe pretending that I'm trueHolding in my laugh as I say I love youSay no more I whisper in your earI say I love you and I will always be hereAnd though I often reminisce I can't believe that I've foundDesire for true love floating aroundI need love

'cause God may forgive you, but I won'tYes, Jesus loves you, but I don'tThey don't have to live with you and neither do IYou say that you're born again, well so am IGod may forgive you, but I won'tand I won't even try

It's time for all religionsTo live without divisionIt's our choice, hear out voice, scream until they listenBut there must be a wayWe can live without hateWe don't have to fight for everything we've gotIs this the price you want to payDon't let the system tear us apartOpen your eyes and you'll find your heartBe part of the cure and not the disease'cause how can you bleed if you ain't got a heart

Footloose- Can you find it in your heart

Can you find it in your heart to forgive her?Can you stop and see there's part of her that's trying to obeyWhile part of her is dying to run away?Can't you hear what's she's trying to say?Can you find it in your soul to accept her?If she stumbles on your holy path do you have to reprimand?Or are there ways to make her understandWithout using the back of your hand?

Kudos to including Jimi Hendrix's cover of "Hey Joe"... in my 28 years of existence I always understood the theme of that song in the context of revenge. Broken apart it is quite... blatant and over the top, but regardless, a great tune.

John McCutcheon has a song called "Forgive Us" you may want to add to this list. The album is called "This Fire: Politics, Love & Other Small Miracles." Directly references the Lord's Prayer and also the shooting of five Amish school girls at Nickle Mines, PA.

I love this music. It is so eclectic from so many listeners. Is there anyway to download this music for my listening pleasure? Or can you make CDs that can be bought? I love the program and the music. Em Crosby

Regretting What I Said… : Future Fossils, by Christine Lavin Both Sides of the Tweed: Song for Ireland, by Mary Black (lyrics by Robert Burn)The House of Orange: From Fresh Water, by Stan RogersDead Man Walking: The Essential Bruce Springsteen, by Bruce SpringsteenJerusalem: Bowery Songs, by Joan BaezWinds of the Old Days: The Complete A&M Recordings, by Joan BaezMr. Sellack: The Roches, by The Roches

Really recomend "Joe Hill" an old labor spiritual that sums up the difficult years of struggle and redemption that the generation before mine experienced establishing union rights. Especially John Prine's version

I just listened to the broadcast program this morning, and thought immediately of a song. I'm not a big fan of country music, but this piece about forgiveness gets to me every time I hear it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... . Its by Iris Dement. The title is "You've Done Nothing Wrong".

I just listened to the broadcast program this morning, and thought immediately of a song. I'm not a big fan of country music, but this song about forgiveness gets to me every time I hear it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... . Its by Iris Dement. The title is "You've Done Nothing Wrong".

I'm offering a song that addresses forgiveness. This is a song by Toby Mac. It is called START SOMEWHERE...it expresses the hurt of both parties, it expresses the position of who hurt who and why, and it ends with the urgency to resolve the issue before it gets too big. Last line goes: "I'm reaching out my hand in love before the fading sun forgive me for what I've done". The idea is that both parties are hurting...and asking for forgiveness starts the ball rolling. Demand for something in return is flipped and the raw emotion is different because it is open recognizing the vulnerability. Wow moment!!

Opera is full of melodramatic tales of revenge and forgiveness. Although these themes are universal and remain relevant to modern audiences, often the plots of the operas we know and love seem, well, a bit contrived, unbelievable, and out of date. Contemporary composer John Adams, however, brings these universal themes to the stage with a context that is very much relevant to our world today.

Adams' 1981 opera /The Death of Klinghoffer/ chronicles the true story of a Mediterranean cruise ship that was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists, resulting in the murder of a disabled American Jewish man named Leon Klinghoffer. The opera is a poignant examination of the feelings of hatred and grief on both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. And while it seems that the terrorists and passengers come to a greater understanding of one another and even feel sorry for one another, the opera concludes with a rage-filled aria by Mrs. Klinghoffer having just learned of her husband's death from the ship's captain. It is clear that there will be no forgiveness.

"You embraced them! And now you come, the captain, every vein, stiff with adrenaline, the touch of Palestine on your uniform, and offer me your arm. I would spit on you, but my mouth is dry. I have no spit and no tears yet . . . If a hundred people were murdered and their blood flowed in the wake of this ship like oil, only then would the world intervene. They should have killed me. I wanted to die."

"Understanding" by Solomon Burke"Ebony & Ivory" by Stevie Wonder & Paul McCartney"Listen to What The Man Says" by Paul Mccartney"Walk Your Troybles Down" by Sweet Honey In The Rock "Shower The People" by James Taylor